Electric terminal



June 26, 1934.

/@ Qg/Q 0 11%?5 E. A. EVERETT 1 ELECTRIC TERMINAL Filed Dec. 21 1931 INVENTOR.

A TTOR S.

objects of the invention Patented dune 26, 1934 ill'lE STATES PAT NT FFECE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to electric terminals which are used mainly for terminating wires and cables in junction boxes and it may be applied with a lightning arrester or with a wire tag. The

are to provide a conducting rip which is clamped to a terminal post by a self locking nut; to provide a terminal strip with a conical aperture which is engaged by a conical shaped nut on the terminal post; to provide a terminal strip with apertures for binding posts which have a projecting flange in which a conical aperture formed; to provide means for centering a terminal strip with an aperture substantially larger than the terminal post on the terminal post, and to provide a ready means for interrupting the circuit at the terminal. Other objects of he invention will be understood from the following. specifications and the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bank of electric terminals constructed according to the invention;

2 is an end elevation corresponding to Fig. 1, artly sectioned;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation on line l-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail, partly sectioned, showing the connection between the conical shaped nut and the conical aperture in the criminal strip;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation, partly sectioned, on line 6-6, Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of one form of terminal strip that may be used with this invention, and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of another form of terminal strip that may be used with this invention.

It is usual to terminate electric wires on terminal blocks v hich are made of porcelain, bakelite or other insulating materials and are provided with a pair of spaced binding posts. The wires are clamped to these binding posts and when the circuit is to be continued from one post to the other, a terminal strip is provided which is so arranged that it can readily be disconnected from at least one of the binding posts so that an instrument may be used between the binding posts for testing the circuit. In addition to this, lightning arresters are sometimes provided on the connecting strip, or a plat-e of fibre may be clamped on the terminal strip upon which markings are provided to designate the circuit.

The present invention resides in the construction of these terminal strips and the method of clamping them on the binding posts. The terminal strip is provided with apertures or perforations which are threaded on the binding posts and the strip is then clamped in place by the clamping nuts. Heretofore it has been the practice to punch a hole in the terminal strip for the stem of the binding post and to clamp the flat surfaces of the terminal strip between the fiat faces of the binding nuts.

In the present invention, the terminal strip is perforated with the hole much larger in diameter than the stem of the binding post and this perforation is provided with a raised flange around the edges of the hole, preferably formed from the metal extruded from the hole. The opening of this flanged aperture is-bevelled or cone shaped and the nut on the binding post which engages this part of the terminal strip is cone shaped so that as it is tightened on the terminal post it engages the terminal strip with a locking engagement.

Where the terminal posts are accurately spaced, as for instance when mounted in a bakelite base, each terminal post may be connected to the terminal strip through the conical apertures; however, when the terminal posts are not accurately spaced, such as arises when they are mounted in a procelain base, then one of the apertures in the terminal strip may be oval shaped, while the other aperture is provided with the conical construction. The conical nut, by engaging the conical aperture of the terminal strip, centers this aperture on the binding post and when the opposite end of the terminal strip is firmly secured, the 5 conical aperture remains centered on the binding post after the clamping nut has been backed off. This enables the circuit to be interrupted momentarily by a slight movement of the terminal strip, or the terminal strip may be provided with a bias which causes it to move clear of the binding posts as soon as the binding nut is released and, at the same time, the circuit is quickly reestablished by tightening the clamping nut. The cone engagement between the clamping nut and the terminal strip prevents the clamping nut from working loose under vibration and other conditions.

In the drawing, a, b, and c are three electric terminals which are assembled in a group by the studs 17 as more particularly described in U. S. Patent 1,826,869, issued Oct. 13, 1931. The terminal blocks a and I) support lightning arresters and the terminal block 0 supports a wire tag. The terminal comprises the base 11, supporting the binding posts 12 and 13 which are connected by connector strip 14, which may be used to support the lightning arrester 15 with the binding post 16 to which the ground connection may be made.

The construction of the conductor strip 14 will be understood from Fig. 5 in which 21 is the stem of the binding post, 22 is the binding nut having the conical shaped base 23, which engages the tapered or conical aperture in 14 formed by the projecting flange 24. It will be observed that the aperture at 24 is much larger than the stem 21 and that the binding nut 22 centers the aperture on the stem as it is tightened. It will also be noted that the binding nut 22 does not pass completely through the aperture in 14 but instead provides frictional engagement between the conical surfaces of 23 and 24which locks the nut against turning. The end of the terminal strip is preferably provided with a rubber or insulating pad 25 which may be used as a finger grip to move the terminal strip into the open position indicated in Figs. 4 and 6, or the terminal strip itself may be provided with a bias so that when it is clamped by the opposite binding nut, it will automatically assume this position when the nut 22 is released.

The form of terminal strip indicated in Fig. '7 is provided with an aperture at 26 for the mounting of the lightning arrester 15 or other apparatus on the strip and it is provided with two flanged conical apertures 24 which are secured by the binding posts as indicated in Fig. 6. The terminal strip in Fig. 8 is provided with a flanged conical aperture 24 and with an oval aperture at 27 and may be mounted on the binding post as indicated in Fig. 4, the oval aperture 27 providing for any irregularity that may arise in the spacing of the binding posts. The construction in Fig. 6 indicates a wire tag 18 clamped to the terminal strip instead of a lightstrip and when this has ning arrester.

The conical construction of the connection between the binding nuts and the terminal strip centers the terminal post in the aperture of the been done, the binding nut on the opposite terminal, as at 12 in Fig. 4, is then tightened so that the terminal strip is fixedly secured relative to the binding post 13 so that once the terminal strip is properly assembled, the aperture 24 will remain centered on the stem 13 for testing and other purposes.

It should be understood that the conical locking terminal between the posts and terminal strip herein described is capable of a variety of uses and is not limited to the particular construction and use described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An electric terminal comprising a base, a pair of fixed binding posts on said base, a conductor strip of spring sheet stock mounted on said posts by apertures substantially larger than the posts, a lightning arrester supported by said strip between said posts and conical shaped nuts on said posts having the conical portion arranged to enter said apertures.

strip of sheet stock having conical apertures mounted on said posts with an integral flange surrounding each aperture and conical shaped nuts on said posts having the conical portion arranged to enter said apertures.

3. An electric terminal comprising a base, a pair of fixed binding posts on said base, a conductor strip of spring sheet stock having conical shaped apertures substantially larger than said posts mounted on said posts, a lightning arrester connected to and supported by said strip and conical shaped nuts on said posts having their conical shaped portion arranged to enter the conical apertures in said strip.

4. An electric terminal comprising a base, a pair of fixed binding posts on said base, a strip of spring sheet stock for connecting said posts, said strip having a conical shaped aperture at one end and an oval aperture at the opposite end and mounted on said binding posts through said apertures, a conical, shaped nut on one of said binding posts engaging the walls of said conical shaped aperture and a plain nut clamping said strip on said post at the oval end.

5. An electric terminal comprising a base, a pair of fixed binding posts on said base, a conductor strip of sheet stock for connecting and disconnecting said posts, said strip having apertures for mounting on said posts, one of said apertures being substantially larger than the post and having a conical formation, a conical shaped nut on said post engaging the conical aperture in said strip to centre the aperture on the post and means for clamping said strip in place after it is centered by the conical nut.

6. An electric terminal comprising a base, a pair '7. An electric terminal comprising a base, a pair of binding posts on said base, a conductor strip of sheet stock having apertures registering with and through which said binding posts pass, one of said apertures being substantially larger in diameter than the binding posts and having a flange formed on one side from the stock of the connector and being conical shaped with the larger diameter on the same side as the flange and a conical shaped nut on said binding post arranged to enter said conical aperture.

EDWARD A. EVERETT.

said apertures beand substantially larger than 

